Press Releases

State Arts Council Announces New Art Exhibit at Block Island Airport

The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) announced today that a new art exhibition of works by May Babcock will be held from June 2nd through July 28th, 2016 at the Block Island Airport Gallery. The Block Island Airport Gallery presents the work of contemporary Rhode Island artists in quarterly exhibitions.

Based in Pawtucket, May Babcock is a visual artist whose studio processes combine printmaking, hand papermaking, and book-arts techniques. She creates artwork that addresses contemporary landscape, and gathers sketches and materials from each site to create innovative installations and works on paper.

Exhibiting nationally and internationally, she has taught courses in all forms of printmaking, papermaking, drawing and two-dimensional design. Additionally, she is the founder of Paperslurry.com, an active blog dedicated to promoting the art and craft of hand papermaking, and is on the board of the hand papermaking organization Friends of Dard Hunter. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in Storrs with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and printmaking, and also earned her Masters of Fine Arts from the graduate printmaking program at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Exhibitors for the Block Island Airport Gallery were selected by a panel of artists and community members. Panelists for the 2016 exhibition schedule were Lisa Starr, Ben Wohlberg and Carolina Arentsen.

For images of the installation of work at the Block Island Airport, visit RISCA's Flickr site at https://www.flickr.com/photos/risca-photos/albums/72157669535148985

The Block Island Airport Gallery, a partnership between the Rhode Island Council on the Arts and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, promotes outstanding work by artists living and working in Rhode Island. The gallery will present art to an ever-changing audience of local, national and international travelers.

About RISCA:
The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts organizations and artists, schools, community centers, social service organizations and local governments to bring the arts into the lives of Rhode Islanders.

About RIAC:
The Rhode Island Airport Corporation operates T.F. Green Airport, the Block Island Airport and four other general aviation airports in Rhode Island. A long-time supporter of public art in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation has worked with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts on a number of public art commissions.